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Havre Daily News staff
The Interior Department said in a press release today it is starting the first-ever public comment period to look at whether to rescind executive orders presidents made to create national monuments, with the list of monuments under review including Montana’s Upper Missouri River Breaks.
“A public comment period is not required for monument designations under the Antiquities Act; however, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and President Trump both strongly believe that local input is a critical component of federal land management,” a release from Interior said this afternoon.
“The Department of the Interior is the steward of America’s greatest treasures and the manager of one-fifth of our land. Part of being a good steward is being a good neighbor and listening to the American people who we represent,” Montana-native Zinke said in the release. “Today’s action, initiating a formal public comment process finally gives a voice to local communities and states when it comes to Antiquities Act monument designations. There is no pre-determined outcome on any monument. I look forward to hearing from and engaging with local communities and stakeholders as this process continues.”
The Antiquities Act of 1906 endowed the president with the power to designate national monuments in “the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected” on lands the president deems “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, [or] other objects of historic or scientific interest.”
President Donald Trump issued an executive order April 26 directing Interior to review a list of monuments to deem if they had been properly designated.
The Missouri Breaks monument was controversial from the start, as was a Wild and Scenic River designation of part of the same area in the 1970s.
After Interior conducted a series of public meetings including some attended by Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, President William Clinton designated 378,000 acres of federal land in the Breaks a monument.
Some landowners in the area and others attacked the designation as presidential overreach.
The same happened when President Teddy Roosevelt, of whose administration the Antiquities Act is considered a legacy, designated the first monuments after the act’s passage with a lawsuit filed over his designation of the Grand Canyon as a national monument.
Interior is seeking comments on a number of monuments designated from 1996 on, saying in the release:
Comments may be submitted online after May 12 at http://www.regulations.gov by entering “DOI-2017-0002” in the Search bar and clicking “Search,” or by mail to Monument Review, MS-1530, U.S. Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20240.
DATES: The Department will shortly publish a notice in the Federal Register officially opening the public comment period. Written comments relating to the Bears Ears National Monument must be submitted within 15 days of publication of that notice. Written comments relating to all other designations subject to Executive Order 13792 must be submitted within 60 days of that date.
Monument
Location
Year(s)
Acreage
Basin and Range
Nevada
2015
703,585
Bears Ears
Utah
2016
1,353,000
Berryessa Snow Mountain
California
2015
330,780
Canyons of the Ancients
Colorado
2000
175,160
Carrizo Plain
California
2001
204,107
Cascade Siskiyou
Oregon
2000/2017
100,000
Craters of the Moon
Idaho
1924/2000
737,525
Giant Sequoia
California
2000
327,760
Gold Butte
Nevada
2016
296,937
Grand Canyon-Parashant
Arizona
2000
1,014,000
Grand Staircase-Escalante
Utah
1996
1,700,000
Hanford Reach
Washington
2000
194,450.93
Ironwood Forest
Arizona
2000
128,917
Mojave Trails
California
2016
1,600,000
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks
New Mexico
2014
496,330
Rio Grande del Norte
New Mexico
2013
242,555
Sand to Snow
California
2016
154,000
San Gabriel Mountains
California
2014
346,177
Sonoran Desert
Arizona
2001
486,149
Upper Missouri River Breaks
Montana
2001
377,346
Vermilion Cliffs
Arizona
2000
279,568
NATIONAL MONUMENTS BEING REVIEWED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE DESIGNATION OR EXPANSION WAS MADE WITHOUT ADEQUATE PUBLIC OUTREACH AND COORDINATION WITH RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS
Katahadin Woods and Waters
Maine
2016
87,563
The Department of the Interior seeks public comments related to: (1) Whether national monuments in addition to those listed above should be reviewed because they were designated or expanded after January 1, 1996 “without adequate public outreach and coordination with relevant stakeholders;” and (2) the application of factors (i) through (vii) set forth above to the listed national monuments or to other Presidential designations or expansions of designations meeting the criteria of the Executive Order. With respect to factor (vii), comments should address other factors the Secretary might consider for this review.
In a separate but related process, certain Marine National Monuments will also be reviewed. As directed by section 4 of Executive Order 13795 of April 28, 2017, “Implementing An America-First Offshore Energy Strategy” (82 FR 20815, May 3, 2017), the Department of Commerce will lead the review of the Marine National Monuments in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior. To assist in that consultation, the Secretary will accept comments related to the application of factors (i) through (vii) in Executive
Order 13792 as set forth above to the following Marine National Monuments:
MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENTS BEING REVIEWED PURSUANT TO EXECUTIVE ORDERS 13795 AND 13792
Marianas Trench
CNMI/Pacific Ocean
2009
60,938,240
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts
Atlantic Ocean
2016
3,114,320
Pacific Remote Islands
Pacific Ocean
2009
55,608,320
Papahanaumokuakea
Hawaii/Pacific Ocean
2006/2016
89,600,000
Rose Atoll
American Samoa/Pacific Ocean
2009
8,609,045
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